Does your puppy turn his nose up at…

Does your puppy turn his nose up at his own chow- because he wants some of whatever it is that you're having? A new study finds that, when it comes to food, dogs recognize human 1 signals about what's good. The work is in the journal Public Library of Science ONE. Researchers let pet dogs choose between two plates , one with a single piece of food and the other with six pieces . 2, the animals generally went for the larger portion . But when a human being showed a clear liking for the smaller plate, the canines likewise went for the skimpier choice. The dogs 3 recognized and responded to the humans ' social cues. And not all cues were equally effective. When the human approached but did not touch the smaller portion, dogs 4 the attention drawing gesture. For a social signal to influence behavior, it had to demonstrate intention . And the most effective cues also involved 5, such as looking from the food to the dog and back while talking encouragingly. For dogs, choosing a bite may depend on another's bark.